Both the candidates had lost last year's assembly elections. Laway was defeated by Muhammad Yousuf Tarigami of the Communist Party of India-Marxist from Kulgam assembly seat and Fayaz Ahmed was defeated from Kupwara seat by Bashir Ahmad of the People's Conference.

Both the candidates were nominated unanimously by the PDP's political affairs committee because of their "good performance" in the assembly elections although they did not win, he said.

The four seats were held by Ghulam Nabi Azad and Saifuddin Soz of the Congress and Ghulam Nabi Ratanpuri and Muhammad Shafi Uri of the National Conference.